Shonee McWilliams churns out at least 100 pies from her home kitchen in East Belfast to delighted pastry fans every Saturday, and has been doing so for the past year.
Operating under the brand name Pie Queen, Shonee describes setting up the business as a "necessity" as she lost her job working as a chef when the venue she worked in closed down early in the pandemic.
Cooking and baking professionally for ten years, she had always wanted to go out on her own, but thought it was a "good few years down the line." Losing the job she "loved very much" spurred her on to go out on her own.
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Initially starting off with cook at home boxes, then moving into doing some pop-up events during the first year of lockdown, Shonee settled on making pies back in March 2021 and hasn't looked back.
"Pie Queen was born from necessity but has turned into something very cool, and I very much love doing it," she told Belfast Live.
"I think there's something very special about pie. Making it is a very long process, it's very much a labour of love, and I think it's so evident in the end product.
"I'm so glad everybody gets it and they see it as something really special, something to get as a gift or something to share on an occasion. People come back on every occasion to get a pie, or I've had people say 'here's my three favourite flavours - can you make that a pie.' You can make anything a pie!
"That makes it a joy for me to work with because you can be so creative with it. I do savoury and sweet pies, and you just take inspiration from anything and make it into a pie."
Relying on the social media platform Instagram to market her business and receive orders, Shonee said using it has been "amazing" as it allows her to tell her own story through images.
She added that she "can't believe" she's been running Pie Queen for a year already, with her 'pie drops' selling out early each week.
And every Saturday when people call to her "big red door" and ring the bell for pie, she said she still has to pinch herself.
"I thought this was just a little project to get me through out of necessity, that I was going to have a bit of fun with it but then I was going to have to go and get a 'real job.' I can't believe I'm still doing it," Shonee continued.
"Every Saturday when I'm boxing up the pies, I always have a moment of saying 'I can't believe people have bought these and I don't know who any of these people are, they've all gone online to buy my product.' It just blows my mind. It feels really amazing.
"People are always really excited. If it's a new customer, they're always kind of like 'I've wanted to try your stuff for ages, I can't wait to have pie.' Everyone is so enthusiastic.
"I think people love to support this kind of grassroots business, where I had a concept and I have a skill and I've just figured out a way to do it against the odds. People seem to be excited to be part of it, and the beginning of what I'm hoping Pie Queen will become."
As well as being excited about the growth and development of her own food business, Shonee said it's a "really exciting time" for the food scene in Belfast, which is something she loves being part of.
She added: "A lot of really talented cooks and chefs were kind of hidden away working for other people, which is fine, we all need jobs and that's okay.
"But we were all put in this weird scenario where we were stuck in a rut and had to do something, so all these amazing small businesses out of people's homes have appeared after lockdown, and I don't think the food scene in Belfast has ever looked as interesting, diverse, and as cool as it is now.
"The vast majority of those are people just in their homes, who have this skill and hope that people come, and everyone is just loving it. It makes me so happy."
As she looks forward to announcing some "exciting news" in the near future, Shonee said she is thankful to all those who have supported her business for the past year.
She continued: "I always wanted to do something as some point, but thought it would be a long way down the line. I didn't really have any money, I always thought I'd be way more comfortable, a little more prepared.
"But I was 100% thrown in at the deep end and just took the risk. I might have always just gone 'maybe some day' and pushed it off, but here I am now!"
You can find out more about Pie Queen by clicking here.
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